2018-10-01T12:46:10-07:00https://ericgideon.com/Octopress2017-07-17T18:00:00-07:00https://ericgideon.com/flying/open-source/building-and-flying-with-stratux-ads-b-in-part-2Over a year ago I wrote about my initial experiences building and testing out the open-source Stratux ADS-B In receiver. I’ve gotten more involved with the project since then, testing out new hardware and changing my existing build. I’ve also had the chance to use some competing hardware!

If you’re a pilot without existing access to ADS-B In weather and traffic, build this list. The same results cost $233 a year ago, and the software has matured while the hardware has improved. For under $150, you can get dual-band ADS-B In traffic and weather with WAAS position data. It’s fantastic.

In use

The one thing you might want to add is suction cups or velcro tape to position the unit. I fly a Grumman AA-1A, which (like the AA-5 Traveler/Cheetah and AG-5B Tiger) has an aluminum honeycomb fuselage structure. My best reception involved positioning the with the antennas in a vertical orientation. This would not be as necessary in something like a Piper or Cessna.

As far as the reception performance goes, it ranges from ‘decent’ to ‘great’, depending on the situation. I found that signal strength for traffic is often far better than that for weather. Still, in the Seattle area, I frequently see 4 or more ground stations in ForeFlight, which keeps weather up to date satisfactorily. South of Portland, reception can drop to a single tower. I haven’t compared this to a Stratus 2S unit, but minimal ground stations exist out there in the first place.

GPS reception isn’t perfect – it’s not an external antenna, so accuracy is typically good at best – but it’s totally functional. I use ForeFlight track recordings to debrief instrument training and currency flights, and it works great.

Compared to OEM equipment

I’ve flown with pilots who have Stratus 2S units, and they seem pretty comparable. ForeFlight AHRS fed by a Stratus 2S is glitchy but usable; new Stratux builds support AHRS with the right hardware, but I haven’t been able to compare.

Two months ago, we installed the Stratus ESGi transponder in our Grumman. The ESG is an ADS-B Out transponder, with a hard connection to a battery-less “Stratus 2i”. Because it’s receiving 978 and 1090 signals via the belly-mounted transponder antenna, the signal strength is exceptional and outperforms the Stratux… but installed cost was around $4,000. Getting similar performance for $150 is a steal.

Some in the community use a splitter to connect a DME belly antenna to their dual-band Stratux, and they report similar impressive results. If you’ve got the old hardware still dragging along, getting an A&P to rig up a BNC to SMA adapter can be a powerful option.

No matter what you build, check out the community on GitHub and consider contributing! There’s a fair number of contributors on the Slack chat as well.

I first heard about the Stratux project a few months back, in a subreddit that described how to build your own ADS-B In receiver for under $120. It uses software-defined radios to pick up ADS-B data, then processes it using open-source software. As a pilot who’s dabbled with the idea of plunking down around $1000 on the Stratus 2S, this was a pretty attractive idea: less than $200 for traffic and weather on my iPad? Heck, I could build a receiver and order a new iPad for less than the list price of the Stratus.

I took the plunge, ordered the parts, and tried it out.

The verdict? It works brilliantly.

I started with the suggested parts to build a single-radio device, much like the original Stratus or the new 1S, and spent around $10 more on a slightly better external battery pack. Assembly is simple: plug the radios into the USB ports, and (if you’ve got a case) screw the Raspberry Pi down. Here’s my original build:

$22.50: NooElec NESDR Mini 2 – this is the software-defined radio that receives ADS-B data. Note: don’t buy this one, get the newer Nano 2.

$36.99: Anker Astro E5 power bank. I wouldn’t recommend this purely because of how massive it is. Use ship power or a smaller battery.

After tax, this put me at $142.42, not including the blue tape – still pretty reasonable.

This build got me the bare minimum: 978Mhz (UAT) weather, plus traffic if we were near enough to an ADS-B Out equipped aircraft to get the messages meant for them. After reading some more posts that added GPS (and the possibility of AHRS – basically making it a Stratus 2S), I ordered a Reyax RY835AI for $46.00 via eBay. This GPS isn’t recommended anymore, as it’s glitchy and require soldering, but it works fine.

That setup – GPS + 978Mhz – took us to Reno for the Air Races, and worked flawlessly the whole way. Between Seattle and Sacramento, where we picked up our car, we saw between one and three ADS-B towers the entire trip.

After that first trip proved how useful it was, getting us weather and traffic far in advance and with very little workload, I’ve gotten more involved in the Stratux community and continued building out my receiver. After a few others had success with using MakeXYZ to 3D-print cases, I ordered one and set it up.

More recently, I picked up two of the newer NooElec Nano2 SDRs to save space, then joined them to share a single antenna. Here’s the current parts list:

Cost

Description

$38.70

3D printed case designed by /u/helno and printed by MakeXYZ. If I was to do this again, I’d go for a newer, cheaper design that he recently published.

I’ve also got a 10’ USB extension cable, and a 2-port, 2.1A car charger that provides power for the Stratux and one iPad or smartphone. This means you can skip the battery pack, or get a much smaller one for backup purposes. The 10’ cable allows me to mount it in the back of the baggage compartment, and the 6’ SMA cable lets the antenna hang in the center of the cabin where it gets the best reception.

It’s easy to blow past the original $120 promise, but the value is pretty impossible to beat. Add in the fact that the community is very active on both reddit and github, and you’ve got a pretty much future-proof Stratus replacement.

]]>2013-04-20T18:34:00-07:00https://ericgideon.com/lessonplans/instrument-proficiency-check-plan-of-actionThis is a rough guide for an IPC. Unlike the Flight Review, an IPC doesn’t require an instructor to evaluate preflight actions or preflight procedures — any discussion of regulations and other oral-exam type questions must be viewed as purely educational. The IPC itself can only be passed during a flight.

I previously talked about figuring out how to use an FAA certificate and other steps towards flight-seeing as a pilot in Iceland. This is a more in-depth review of the planning involved, what I used, and where I went.

Planning

One of the major difficulties I had in researching my flights was getting charts and information about airspace and facilities around Iceland. I found this out too late to be of use for my trip, but airspace, airways, and other Icelandic chart data are now available online at SkyVector. Their data compares accurately to the paper chart I borrowed, and can help with figuring out where to go and how to get there.

Airport (aerodrome) information can be found by browsing through the Aeronautical Information Publication (AIP), the functional equivalent to a mashup of regulations similar to our FARs, some IFR enroute charts, and a couple of terminal approach diagrams and airport maps. Take your time and give it a read — everything is in English, and some parts are also in Icelandic. It isn’t as bland as the FAR, so be thorough! Many airports have gravel runways and limited facilities, and you don’t want to find out the hard way.

Weather information is available via the Icelandic Met Office, where you can explore a rather nice selection of aviation weather products. Most of what you’re familiar with in the states from the Aviation Weather Center is on hand, though often in a different format. Both of my flights were slightly iffy weather-wise — the fall & winter leaves Iceland with lots of low scud much of the time, but when it clears, it’s gorgeous. Give yourself some options and book a couple backup flights.

Operational differences

One of the weirdest mental changes I had to make was the flight plan system. Unlike the US, all flights must be on a flight plan — and (at least when operating at Reykjavik) you file with the control tower of the airport where you are based. Outside of towered airports I think you wind up filing and closing with the enroute ATC.

Also important to reiterate — most of the airports in Iceland are pretty bare bones even when compared to small fields in the US. Avgas is uncommon, and paved runways are a luxury. The gravel surfaces available are good, but they’re still gravel. Don’t expect to find a terminal or tiedown facilities everywhere, either.

Language

Everybody speaks English. Seriously, every single person I encountered in Iceland spoke incredibly fluent English. Pronouncing the names of places is intimidating, but it seemed like every Icelander had their own pronounciation, so I didn’t run into any issues working with air traffic control. And of course, just like flying in the US, you can always just ask questions or state intentions in plain language and get your point across just fine.

What it costs

Probably the most important question anybody has about flying, but also probably the one with the most immediately outdated answers. Long story short — it costs more than the US, but much less than Europe.

Flugskóli Íslands, the flight school that I rented from, requires a checkout flight with one of their instructors before allowing you to rent solo. At the time that I was visiting, a Cessna 172S rented for 24,750 ISK an hour (wet), which converted to around $188, and the instructor rate was 5,900 ISK an hour, around $45. I flew with Kristófer, and he was professional, friendly, and more than happy to help us improve our trip, from picking a destination for our flight to suggesting restaurants in Reykjavik. The rentals have no minimum, which means you can book a plane for the length of time you think you’ll need, and only pay for the block time — which is minutes elapsed from engine start to shutdown, for those used to Hobbs billing.

Where to go

After talking with our instructor and some of the other staff at Flugskóli Íslands, we settled on Stykkishólmur as our destination. It’s a small city in the northwest of Iceland, and about .9 hours flying time away from Reykjavik — here’s an approximation of the route we flew. We didn’t have a ton of time to explore (I strongly recommend booking the airplane for the whole day) but it looked like a neat little fishing town.

Also recommended was Vestmannaeyjar, an island community off the south coast. If you’re less interested in getting out and exploring a destination, you could probably do an aerial Golden Circle Tour). You wouldn’t get up super close, but you would be able to see Þingvellir, Geysir (the original geyser), and the waterfall Gulfoss. Honestly, though, just getting into the air over Iceland is cool enough. The entire island is gorgeous, rain or shine, and it’s an amazing experience. Enjoy, and if you’ve got questions feel free to ask me @egid on twitter.

]]>2013-04-06T17:55:00-07:00https://ericgideon.com/flying/travel/flying-in-icelandShanna and I recently took a week-long trip to Iceland, where I was lucky enough to get some flying in. When we’d stopped over in Reykjavik for a couple days during a previous trip to Europe, I noticed how many light aircraft were in the air. The landscape is so weird and compelling that getting up in the air became a mandatory part of our return to Iceland.

Unfortunately, there’s not a ton of information about flying in Iceland on an FAA certificate. I found a 2004 thread on the PPRuNe forum that didn’t offer much, and another article that had some useful info on where to fly, but prices & recommendations from 1998. Eventually, I just scraped around the English-language version of the ICAA website (the Icelandic Civil Aviation Authority) and emailed them directly, asking what I needed to do to fly there. I got a response within 24 hours:

Foreign visitors in Iceland can use their valid and current ICAO pilot licence for three months for private VFR flights in Icelandic airspace in aeroplanes registered in Iceland. So as long you as licence is current and valid and you have sufficient privileges to fly the aeroplane in question. You can fly private VFR for three months in Icelandic airspace without having to validate your licence.

Great news – no need for lengthy and costly process of validation. At this point, things got simpler, as the only task left was finding a place to rent an aircraft.

I contacted Flugskóli Íslands and Iceland Airclub to check prices and restrictions. There are other flight schools and rental FBOs, but the ones I saw didn’t offer english websites, or were outside of Reykjavik, which excluded them right off the bat. Flugskóli Íslands has a fairly large fleet of Cessnas (C-152, C-172N, C-172S), allows solo rental with no minimum block time, and requires potential renters do a one-hour checkout with instructor. Iceland Airclub has a few PA-28s, but allows dual flights only – unless you pay dearly to become a member.

It wasn’t really a difficult decision, once I had the information, and I scheduled a couple of flights with Flugskóli Íslands well in advance. They’re the busiest flight school in Iceland, so this might not be a terrible idea. They’re friendly and very responsive to emails, so don’t hesitate to contact them.

Depending on what you read, around a third of the time spent on mobile devices is taken up by email. Redfin is being increasingly accessed from mobile devices. It’s the 21st century, and we’ve all got computers in our pockets.

Why, then, are we sending out emails that are formatted exclusively for desktop email clients? Not even necessarily all that well, honestly. If you’re reading them on something like a MacBook Air or an ultrabook/netbook sort of machine, our font size choices are probably making that whole situation pretty tough. That said, we have some good looking templates that heavily favor desktop reading, thanks to font sizes, header elements, and (most important) multi-column layouts.

The future of email is here, and it looks a lot like the past.

I started working on Redfin’s emails late last year, and we immediately started cleaning things up. Fewer tables, larger font sizes, less clutter. You probably didn’t notice, or if you did you didn’t think much about it. They look pretty good, but our email is nothing special. And everything we were sending was 100% tables, with weird hacks to get around Outlook 2007 & 2010. For desktop only, that’s fine, but what about for mobile? Android and iOS both boast incredibly modern WebKit-based default mail clients, supporting HTML5 and CSS3 (including things like inline video!). But the work involved in designing and coding a separate ‘mobile’ email campaign is pretty intimidating, and the idea of going through every email we send and redesigning wasn’t particularly appealing either.

What do you do, then? Lots of desktop/mobile email templates out there seem to reformat the existing table cells as narrower versions for mobile, but that’s kind of a cop-out. They look good, and the responsive layout might be nifty, but they still run the risk of tiny text areas. So, designing emails to have secondary content that can collapse doesn’t really solve the problem of an email that is truly accessible to mobile users. It also doesn’t address the issue of the design & coding workload required to get new templates designed, built, and tested.

I mentioned earlier that mobile email clients (except for Gmail, on any platform) are fancy and modern; what does this actually mean for the old-school table layouts, though? That got me thinking: what if we could convince these clients that they should ignore the fact that the content is in a table? Most web developers probably use display:block; on inline elements like all the time, so why not on table cells? Obviously if you’re writing semantic code and using tables for tabular data, this makes no sense, but if you’re writing emails and using tables for layout, this seems like the perfect solution. It took some experimentation, but I found that, yes, we can turn a td into a block element that we can manipulate as a pseudo-div.

Breaking tables (deliberately)

First, we set up a media query that will only be triggered by small screens. This isn’t anything new if you’ve worked with CSS3 and responsive design. Within the media query, we build a simple class that can be assigned to whatever we want to reformat for mobile.

There’s some weird bits to that CSS, especially in the selectors we’re using to pick out .stackonmobile and .hideonmobile - you can thank Yahoo Mail for that. Anyway, this is a class that you’ll want to apply after inlining your css, if you use a tool like premailer. Also, for testing and development, it can help if you use max-width rather than max-device-width - this lets you resize your browser and see your revisions live.

When viewed in an email client or web browser, you’ll see a normal table with two columns, and a second row spanning both. When you hit the same page in a mobile browser, or view the email on an iOS or Android device with a small screen, you’ll get a single-column layout. Take a look at one of our emails to see what I’ve been talking about. We’ve used one set of HTML, but adapted the layout from a horizontal grid to a vertical one, perfect for the narrow confines of a mobile screen. Is it a bit hacky? Yes. Is it valid HTML and CSS? Technically, yes!

We’re gradually rolling out this new format to all the email we send. If you’re a Redfin user and we send you email, please let us know if you have suggestions or see bugs!

Campaign Monitor (more great articles, and some awesome resources on compatibility)

Sadly, there is a disclaimer!

Of course, there are a few compatibility problems. IE and IE mobile (and by extension, the Windows Phone 7.x email client, which otherwise seems quite nice) apparently don’t know that you can apply display:block; to a table cell. As a result, they apply the styles erroneously or not at all (visit the sample in Internet Explorer to see an example of this in action). We get very few opens on Windows Phone, so we deemed it an acceptable risk, but we’re keeping an eye on stats and we are hoping to eventually find some solutions.

If you’ve got a lot of subscribers reading your email on Windows Phone, this probably isn’t the solution for you.

]]>2011-04-27T21:39:00-07:00https://ericgideon.com/lessonplans/flight-instrumentsAfter this ~40 minute briefing, the student should have a working knowledge of the pitot-static and gyroscopic flight instruments. In order to better understand the operation and limitations (and to keep the briefing interesting) the discussion should include instruments’ failure modes as well.

Explain and review flight instrument use, using flight simulator to show relationships

Evaluate student’s learning by posing review questions throughout and correcting to 100%

Student actions

Prepare for the briefing by reading Instrument Flying chapter 2 or Jeppesen chapter

Participate with discussion, taking notes throughout

Answer questions and leave with a general understanding

Completion Standards

The lesson is complete when the student can demonstrate an adequate level of understanding of the flight instruments, their construction, and their operation. A private pilot level of knowledge is expected in the interpretation of flight instrument indications. Throughout the lesson they should be able to correctly answer a majority of the questions without significant instructor prompting.

Teaching outline

Throughout, the Warrior systems trainer should be used to illustrate the construction and operation of the flight instruments and their systems.

Pitot-static system

Airspeed, altimeter, and VSI

Static port(s) provide ‘ambient’ air to the system

alternate air is available in some systems, causing a rise in airspeed, altitude, and vertical trend

if alternate air is unavailable, breaking the glass of the VSI will create one

Pitot tube provides ‘ram’ air to the airspeed indicator

heated to prevent blockage

drain hole to allow impacted rain or other potential blockages to leave the lines

Inclinometer displays the aircraft’s coordination – the quality of the turn

much like a carpenter’s bubble level

During the instrument check, there should be no flag, the aircraft should bank into the turn, and the ball should go outside, indicating a skid

Heading indicator, IF 40

Shows a top-down representation of the aircraft, with a compass card rotating around the outside

Uses rigidity in space; the aircraft pivots around the gyro, indicating the turn

Must be regularly reset to the magnetic compass, due to gyroscopic precession and mechanical inaccuracies

15 minutes is the general rule

Horizontal situation indicator, IF 45

Gets data from a remote sensing flux gate compas

updates the compass card with the slaving motor

Magnetic compass, IF 56

Points to magnetic north, subject to a variety of turn and acceleration errors

Clock, IF 57

Needs to be physically installed in the aircraft, set, and turning

It’s a clock. It tells time.

]]>2011-04-27T18:22:00-07:00https://ericgideon.com/lessonplans/rmi-and-hsiAfter this briefing, the student should have a reasonable understanding of navigating with the Radio Magnetic Indicator (RMI) and Horizontal Situation Indicator (HSI). The lesson will be complete when they can apply that knowledge to a DME arc using a desktop flight simulator.

Evaluate student’s knowledge with various ‘random’ scenarios in Tim’s simulator

Student actions

Prepare by spending a half hour with Tim’s simulator

Maintain active involvement by responding to questions and taking notes

Guide the instructor through the intercepting and tracking of several simulator scenarios

Completion standards

The lesson will be complete when the student can demonstrate an understanding of the techniques required to smoothly and accurately intercept, track, and arc using an RMI with minimal instructor guidance.

Teaching outline

What is an RMI?

RBI overlaid on a heading indicator

it also allows us to tune a VOR and use it like an NDB

Relatively common equipment in more advanced aircraft

newer cockpits generally incorporate an RMI

included in many digital HSIs and most glass PFD setups

Design and operation

Essentially an ADF with a slaved compass card

flux gate compass doesn’t require constant pilot attention

if we tune a VOR, it works just like another ADF and constantly points to the station

Graphic representation of where we are relative to a station

head (arrow) shows the magnetic bearing TO the ground station

tail shows our current bearing FROM

if we’re tuning a VOR, it shows to and from radials

Intercepting and tracking illustrated IF 260

Intercepting and arcing illustrated IF 568

much like arcing with a VOR, but we wait until the head is 10° behind, then turn 20°

we can up our precision by waiting 5°, turning 10°

Following explanation, demonstrate tracking and arcing with Tim’s simulator

HSI

What is an HSI?

all in one instrument that gives you: heading, course selector, glide slope and to/from.

makes instrument scan easier and faster by getting more information from one instrument.

Frequency and bearing set just like a VOR or ILS

Information is interpreted like the VOR or ILS.

HSI display

terminology

operation

Components and operation

Flux gate compass, mounted remotely

Usually on a wingtip – as far from equipment as possible

Measures amount of magnetic flux through three coils

As the aircraft rotates, the current through each coil varies

HSI

Compass card and directional gyro

Slaved to the flux gate, automatically updates

Can be overridden in manual mode and then suffers from precession errors just like a normal heading indicator

Glide slope bars are on the sides of the instrument, rather than a needle

Advantages

Arcing is made easy – we visually cross the radials

Provides us with constant position information

We speed up our scan by combining heading with VLOC

ILS and localizer backcourse

Set HSI to the “front course” heading; the HSI will read correctly

Unlike normal CDI, we do not get reverse sensing provided front course is set

]]>2011-02-26T22:59:00-08:00https://ericgideon.com/flying/onward-and-upward Over the last year, a lot has changed. I got married, flew our newly-restored & upgraded Grumman, spent three weeks in Europe & Iceland, started looking into Masters programs, stopped instructing full time, and got a Real Job™. Oh, and http://aeronaut.ca now redirects to http://ericgideon.com, so update your shit. It’s been a fun year, I’ve enjoyed the changes so far, and I’m looking forward to what the future holds. The only downside to leaving instruction is that I spend a lot of time wishing I was flying, but – and this is key – all of my flying I now enjoy.

Anyway, this last fall was a lot of fun. The two of us went to the Reno Air Races, then visited Germany & Austria, via Iceland. Flying Icelandair was an interesting look at how small airlines can serve smaller markets with narrow routes and the appropriate aircraft. Not to mention, their branding (and cabin crew) was fantastic.

As far as the future goes, I’m looking heavily into masters programs in the field of Human Factors, with the goal of taking that degree into the aviation industry. I’ve spent so much time working with technology & usability, both in aviation and in web design, that I can’t see any other path but this. If you’ve got advice or thoughts on human factors & aviation, I would welcome your input!

]]>2010-04-04T22:19:00-07:00https://ericgideon.com/lessonplans/instrument-rating-knowledge-areasThis is a rough overview of the FAA requirements for an instrument rating – what must be part of the checkride – and some of the areas that are worth focusing on for the examiners I have sent students to.

b) Aeronautical knowledge. A person who applies for an instrument rating must have received and logged ground training from an authorized instructor or accomplished a home-study course on the following aeronautical knowledge areas that apply to the instrument rating sought:

Federal Aviation Regulations of this chapter that apply to flight operations under IFR;

Appropriate information that applies to flight operations under IFR in the “Aeronautical Information Manual”

Air traffic control system and procedures for instrument flight operations;

IFR navigation and approaches by use of navigation systems;

Use of IFR en route and instrument approach procedure charts;

Procurement and use of aviation weather reports and forecasts and the elements of forecasting weather trends based on that information and personal observation of weather conditions;

Safe and efficient operation of aircraft under instrument flight rules and conditions;

c) Flight proficiency. A person who applies for an instrument rating must receive and log training from an authorized instructor in an aircraft, or in a flight simulator or flight training device, in accordance with paragraph (e) of this section, that includes the following areas of operation:

Preflight preparation;

Preflight procedures;

Air traffic control clearances and procedures;

Flight by reference to instruments;

Navigation systems;

Instrument approach procedures;

Emergency operations; and

Postflight procedures.

Technical subjects (briefings)

Aircraft flight instruments and navigation equipment

Aircraft flight instruments

Aircraft navigation equipment

Precision instrument approach systems

Aeromedical factors

Regulations and publications related to IFR operations

Enroute and area charts

Approach plates

Preflight preparation (briefings)

Weather information

Cross-country flight planning

Instrument cockpit check

Air traffic control clearances and procedures

ATC clearances

Compliance with departure, enroute, and arrival procedures and clearances

Flight by reference to instruments

Straight-and-level flight

Turns

Change of airspeed in straight and level and turning flight

Constant airspeed climbs and descents

Constant rate climbs and descents

Timed turns to magnetic compass headings

Steep turns

Recovery from unusual flight attitudes

Navigation systems

Intercepting and tracking navigational systems and DME arcs

VOR

DME

ADF & NDB

GPS

Holding procedures

Instrument approach procedures

Nonprecision instrument approach

LOC / LOC BC

VOR / VORTAC

NDB

GPS

Precision instrument approach

Missed approach

Circling approach and visual maneuvering

Straight-in approach

Emergency operations

Lost communications

Vacuum failure (gyro-driven heading and attitude indicators)

Engine failure during straight and level flight and turns

Postflight procedures

Checking instruments and equipment

]]>2010-04-03T16:43:00-07:00https://ericgideon.com/lessonplans/flight-by-reference-to-instrumentsThe student should gain a working knowledge of instrument flight maneuvers and unusual attitude recovery, and understand the techniques and methods required for safe instrument flight.

Student actions

Completion Standards

The lesson is complete when the student can demonstrate flight by reference to instruments in flight simulator with moderate instructor guidance. Throughout the lesson they should be able to demonstrate a general understanding of flight maneuvers by correctly answering a majority of the questions posed without significant instructor prompting.

Teaching outline

Control/performance method

Attitude and power control the airplane

Performance instruments show how the aircraft is working

Attitude + power = performance

Primary/supporting method

Three categories of instruments:

pitch

bank

power

Primary instruments for each category provide the most pertinent information

abrupt control inputs and the need for smooth corrections while shooting approaches

trim

power

Recovery from unusual flight attitudes

understanding of recovery techniques

proper instrument crosscheck and interpretation

wrongly interpreting the instruments can worsen the situation

proper sequence of inputs to return to level flight

correctly identifying the upset attitude doesn’t help if the recovery is improper

full and partial panel recoveries

Timed and compass turns

Reference the Instrument Flying Handbook 5-24 and 5-25

Standard rate turn: 3°/sec

45° in 15 seconds,

90° in 30 seconds, etc.

Stopwatch or clock + turn coordinator

use the ‘cardinal’ points on the clock – 3, 6, 9, 12

clock substitutes for the heading indicator

reference a spare CDI – each numbered radial is 10 seconds of turn

Compass operating errors and characteristics

UNOS

undershoot north: when turning northerly, roll out when the compass indicates around 30° before the desired heading

overshoot south: when turning southerly, roll out when the compass indicates around 30° past the desired heading

in the southern hemisphere, reverse the corrections

ANDS (on east/west headings)

accelerate north: when we accelerate, the compass will indicate towards the north

decelerate south: when we decelerate, the compass will indicate towards the south

due to the inertia of the weighted end of the compass

calibration procedures

importance of proper timing and trim

Compass tips (IFH)

If you are on a northerly heading and you start a turn to the east or west, the compass indication lags, or shows a turn in the opposite direction.

If you are on a southerly heading and you start a turn toward the east or west, the compass indication precedes the turn, showing a greater amount of turn than is actually occurring.

When you are on an east or west heading, the compass indicates correctly as you start a turn in either direction.

If you are on an easterly or westerly heading, acceleration results in a northerly turn indication; deceleration results in a southerly turn indication.

If you maintain a north or south heading, no error results from diving, climbing, or changing airspeed.

Worksheet

Answer the following prior to the briefing, using Instrument Flying Handbook chapter 4:

The four elements of aircraft control are _____, _____, _____, and _____.

How do we determine our aircraft’s attitude without reference to the horizon?

How do we use the selected radial cross-check pattern?

When would the inverted-V cross-check be more appropriate?

The rectangular cross check?

What are the control instruments?

What are the performance instruments?

How do we interpret the control and performance instruments? _____ + _____ = _____.

In instrument flying, the standard rate of turn is __° per second.

Radius of turn can be decreased by { increasing | decreasing } airspeed.

In a constant-bank level turn, a decrease in airspeed would { increase | decrease | not affect } the rate of turn, and { increase | decrease | not affect } the radius of turn.

]]>2009-05-04T18:28:00-07:00https://ericgideon.com/lessonplans/instrument-approachesThe student should be able to apply previous lessons about approach components to an instrument approach chart, and be prepared to fly an approach in the aircraft.

Elements

review approach concepts

tracking navaids

working with ATC

approach briefing

procedure turn

DME arc

holding

minimum altitudes: MDA & DA

visual maneuvering: straight-in & circling

missed approach

approach types

VOR, VOR/DME

LOC

ILS

GPS, GPS/LPV

NDB

approach techniques

Resources

pen and paper; whiteboard and markers

Instrument Flying Handbook and The Pilot’s Manual: Instrument Flying

instrument procedure charts; preferably in both Jeppesen & government formats

Visual maneuvering: straight-in & circling

Holding

Minimum approach altitudes: MDA & DA

At the DA, the decision is made to land or begin the missed approach segment.

Also referred to as DH (decision height), measured AGL from the touchdown zone (TDZE).

Non-precision approaches have a minimum descent altitude, which is the absolute floor of the approach.

The MDA must be maintained until either a landing is possible (ceiling, visibility, and environment in sight), the missed approach point is reached, or any other time that a missed approach is begun.

MDAs, especially when circling, must be considered minimums only, not mandatory. Often current conditions or personal minimums dictate higher approach minimums.

Missed approach procedures

Instrument approach procedures

VOR, VOR/DME

LOC

ILS

GPS, GPS/LPV

NDB

approach techniques

The ILS is a precision approach, providing both lateral and vertical guidance down a predetermined flight path.

]]>2008-12-22T22:26:00-08:00https://ericgideon.com/lessonplans/correlation-question-bankThese are sample questions for private pilot candidates that will hopefully allow them to demonstrate some level of correlation-level knowledge.

Which would you prefer on takeoff: a strong left crosswind, or a strong right crosswind? Why?

Re: an XC between KPAE and KSHN: obstruction near KPWT. How does it impact the flight based on weather? How about if the altimeter setting is not reset?

Describe an aircraft in a slip or skid. Which wing will stall (or drop) first?

Pose medical emergencies while on a cross-country near airspace.

How high can an aircraft go between two points? Consider service ceiling, weather, aeromedical factors, airspace, etc.

Premium is cheaper than avgas, so can we put it in our airplane? Why or why not?

What role do ailerons have in a spin in a Piper Cub? How about a Cirrus?

Crossing KOLM, do we need to talk? (What altitude? Is the tower open?)

We lose comms outside of KOLM’s airspace. Can we enter their airspace and land?

How does published service ceiling relate to VX and VY?

What is absolute ceiling?

]]>2008-05-07T16:40:00-07:00https://ericgideon.com/Aviation/flying-for-funThat’s the ultimate standard for success, right? Take something that you enjoy, then find a way to get paid for it. So far, I think I’m doing pretty well. Next month I fly down to Bend, Oregon to spend a week at the Cessna (née Columbia) factory. We’re taking delivery of a brand-new Cessna 400, and I’m going to pick it up with the owner after sitting in on the FITS course.

In a nutshell, the Cessna 400 is a certified, production version of the Lancair IV kitplane that uses Garmin’s G1000 cockpit and GFC700 autopilot. It’s got fixed landing gear, unlike the retractable Lancair IV, yet the 310 horsepower twin-turbocharged engine still pushes it to a cruise speed of 235 knots (270 mph, or 435 km/h) at 25,000 feet. The only faster piston single out there is the Mooney M20TN Acclaim, by 2 knots, but it’s entirely possible to forget to lower the landing gear. With turbochargers, high speeds, and an internal oxygen system, it’s unlike anything we currently rent; before our insurance will cover renters, they will need to receive 15 hours or more of flight training.

Anyway, I digress. I’ve gotten myself and my job in a spot, for now, that I’m quite happy with. I’m keeping busy with instrument students and local flights in the Grumman, both of which are extremely fun, and I’m really looking forward to the Cessna 400 training. Not only do I get to spend a week learning the systems and how it flies, I’ll also be spending quite a bit of time helping renters meet their 15-hour training requirements. I’m also trying to wrap up my MEI rating, but it’s not really something I’m driven to do. Everything else is fun, or exciting, or challenging, but right now learning to instruct in a light twin is more a chore than anything else. I’d much rather be taking trips in the flight levels.

This train of thought started with a recent article at John Ewing’s excellent Aviation Mentor on the topic of the shrinking pilot population in America. I think part of the problem is that for the most part flying just doesn’t seem fun anymore. Getting a private pilot certificate is an intense, exhausting task. The airplanes we fly, Cessna 152s and 172s, are decent enough trainers but are completely uninteresting and do little to inspire passion in their pilots. Would you rather race a Ford Contour, or a Mazda Miata?

Light Sport aircraft were supposed to be a huge step in the right direction for general aviation. The aircraft, like Evektor’s Sportstar on the right, certainly look like a lot of fun to fly. Yet the acquisition costs are high, and FBOs willing or able to rent aircraft to Light Sport pilots are far and few between, often due to insurance that requires pilots to hold a current FAA-issued medical before flying solo. If we could get students into aircraft that are inexpensive, docile trainers and, most importantly, fun to fly, general aviation and the pilot population as a whole could get a very positive boost.

]]>2008-04-10T10:00:00-07:00https://ericgideon.com/Aviation/checkride-season
After a pretty marginal winter here in the Puget Sound, the weather is finally starting to improve. Low ceilings and lots of rain have hampered progress for my students working on private pilot certificates, but I’m fortunately also flying with three instrument rating candidates. It’s been a lot of fun, and the weather is less of a problem – although low temperatures have often grounded us due to known icing conditions. Two of them just graduated our instrument training course, and the last is waiting for the examiner to return from visiting his grandkids.

It was a huge relief that they both managed to pass their checkrides on the first attempt – especially since they did so within a day of each other. Signing someone off for a checkride puts a lot more at stake than is immediately apparent, and it causes a ton of stress for the endorsing instructor. If someone is graduated “Part 141” (14 CFR §141: Schools and other certificated agencies), they basically have to pass, because the school needs to maintain a fairly high rate of satisfactory first-attempt checkrides. Making matters more complicated, a flight instructor can only qualify for a Gold Seal on their certificate if they sign off 10 students in 2 years with an 80% pass rate. Where I work, it earns you a raise, so it’s worth training students well.

Fortunately, with the weather improving I can spend some of my downtime flying the Grumman, which I’ve recently been taking on short trips down to Boeing Field between flights with students. As it gets closer to summer, I plan to start making some longer trips – Portland, Vancouver, possibly Eastern Washington. Even further down the road, my dad and I are flying (almost) to the Reno Air Races this year in the Grumman, going down the coast to Auburn, via the Bay Area, and then driving the rest of the way. We’re looking forward to it.

I’ve spent some more time lately flying our Skylane with the Garmin GFC 700 autopilot (or automatic flight control system, as they call it). The smallest change to the system – new autopilot and trim servos – winds up having the largest impact in the real IFR environment. Where the Bendix/King KAP 140 was a rate-based system and didn’t have the precision to command rapid pitch or roll inputs, the Garmin uses the G1000’s own ADC/AHRS to figure out if the airplane is where it needs to be. The higher precision means that it also can react much faster.

When trying to fly an ILS with the ‘old’ system, lowering flaps at the final approach fix or glideslope intercept would cause the autopilot to balloon above and loudly complain “TRIM IN MOTION”. The newer system rapidly (and silently!) counters the pitching moment caused by the flap deployment, precisely intercepting the glideslope at speed and nailing it all the way down to minimums. Being able to fly an approach at 100 knots with 20° of flaps works wonders when it comes to slowing down the very fast new 182T after breaking out on final. I can’t even imagine the hard time guys flying the turbo models must have had with the older autopilot.

When you add in some of the latest G1000 upgrades, like a Decision Altitude bug for approaches and, in the installations with the Garmin autopilot, the addition of a TOGA (Take-Off / Go-Around) button by the throttle, what you get is a complete avionics suite that is continuously evolving and – finally – decreasing pilot workload.

]]>2007-08-12T18:51:00-07:00https://ericgideon.com/lessonplans/steep-spiralsDevelop the student’s ability to plan and execute a steep spiral, improving options in an emergency situation.

Elements

altitude considerations

setup

execution

standards

Resources

model aircraft

standardization manual and operating handbook

Airplane Flying Handbook

Instructor actions

In a guided discussion, explain the aerodynamics, procedures, and execution for steep spirals, using whiteboard illustrations and a model aircraft.

Student actions

Read appropriate chapter and complete homework assignment prior to the briefing. Participate in the guided discussion.

Completion Standards

The student should be able to explain the aerodynamics, procedures, and execution for steep spirals.

Teaching outline

altitude considerations

starting – three full turns must be completed

mra – below 1000 agl only when sim/actual emergency

setup

suitable altitude for three full turns

boost on, gas fullest, gear up, mix rich, prop high

power to idle

establish airspeed of 95 knots

bank to maintain constant radius

horizon references

coordination

pitch and trim for airspeed

wind correction as in turns around a point

track the number of turns

clear the throttle every 360°

exit on a heading with a possible landing spot

standards

continues through at least three 360° turns

airspeed ±10 knots

constant-radius circle with max bank of 60° at steepest point

roll out toward specified heading/object ±10°

]]>2007-08-12T18:44:00-07:00https://ericgideon.com/lessonplans/steep-turnsDevelop the student’s knowledge of the aerodynamics, setup, and execution of steep turns to improve aircraft control and finesse.

Elements

introduce the maneuver

aerodynamics

setup & execution

Resources

model aircraft

whiteboard and markers

Airplane Flying Handbook

UND standardization manual

Instructor actions

In a guided discussion, explain the aerodynamics, procedures, and execution for steep turns, using whiteboard illustrations and a model aircraft.

Student actions

Read appropriate chapter and complete homework assignment prior to the briefing. Participate in the guided discussion.

Completion Standards

The student should be able to explain the aerodynamics, procedures, and execution for steep turns.

Teaching outline

aerodynamics

relationship between load factor and stall speed

maneuvering speed

increase in total lift (and therefore induced drag)

torque effect, especially rollout

overbanking tendency

Execution

setup: 1,500 ft dual, 2,000 ft solo

boost off, gas fullest, gear up, mix rich, prop 2400

outside reference on a cardinal reference

entry airspeed not more than VA (110 Arrow)

roll quickly into bank (45° ±10° p, 50° ±5° c)

verify against attitude indicator

set sight picture against horizon

bank should not exceed 60° (why?)

backpressure to maintain altitude added at 30°

opposite aileron required to counter overbanking tendency

coordination

power increase to hold altitude and airspeed

small pitch corrections, keeping the attitude indicator just above the horizon

]]>2007-06-27T22:06:00-07:00https://ericgideon.com/lessonplans/air-traffic-control-clearancesThe student should gain an understanding of air traffic control clearances, and how they relate to instrument flight operations.

Topics

Terminology

Clearances

Resources

pen and paper

Instrument Flying Handbook

Instrument Flying

laptop

enroute chart and approach plates

Instructor actions

Describe what ATC clearances are and why they’re important

Discuss elements of clearances and appropriate responses

Evaluate student knowledge with questions emphasizing understanding rather than rote

Have the student solve multiple scenarios

Conclude with an oral quiz, identifying and correcting errors

Student actions

Arrive with completed homework assignment

Maintain active involvement by responding to questions and taking notes

Practice reading back clearances to ATC in several scenarios

Complete an oral quiz and demonstration of the concepts

Completion standards

The lesson will be complete when the student can describe and respond to air traffic control clearances with minimal instructor guidance.

Teaching outline

An ATC clearance authorizes us to proceed under IFR in controlled airspace

When ATC issues a clearance, do not deviate from it unless:

an emergency occurs

an amended clearance has been issued

compliance will violate a FAR

ATC clearances are required for operations in class A and B airspace at all times

IFR clearances

With a flight plan, always required to operate IFR in controlled airspace

flight plans get deleted if not activated within an hour of the proposed departure time

Clearances issued on the ground via clearance delivery or ground control

from non-towered airports, if we can reach ATC they can issue clearance

we can also pick up a clearance once we are airborne

Clearance void time

no longer valid following

must be airborne prior

Clearances will always contain the following information in the same order:

Aircraft identification

Clearance limit

Departure procedure

Route of flight

Altitudes (and expected times for each)

Holding instructions

Additional special information

Frequency and transponder code information

Copy clearances using shorthand

Clearance limit

Route of flight

Altitudes and holding

Frequency

Transponder code

Review all clearances received

does it make sense?

can it be complied with?

Notify ATC or delivery immediately if issues exist

If the clearance can be accepted, read the clearance back to ATC

Requesting amended clearances or notifying ATC of deviations is the responsibility of the pilot in command

Abbreviated IFR departure clearances – route will be “as filed”

Enroute clearances

In cruise, we can:

operate and move within the cleared altitude ranges, if any

continue to execute an instrument approach at the destination

VFR on top allows us to climb through IFR to VFR conditions

when on top, we’re still on an IFR flight plan

VFR cruising altitudes must be used

Tower enroute control

used for short routes between terminal areas

handed off in short succession between local facilities

Approach clearances

Approach control will clear us for the requested or assigned approach

read back instructions

at this point we can execute the approach to completion

Contact approach

can only be requested by us as pilots

authorized by the controllers

only allowed to runways with a published approach

ground visibility greater than 1 sm

remain clear of clouds

Visual approach

issued by the controller, intended to reduce workloads and expedite traffic

pilot must have aircraft ahead or the airport in sight

weather must be 1,000 ft and 3 sm

remain clear of clouds

]]>2007-05-22T13:51:00-07:00https://ericgideon.com/lessonplans/ils-dmeThe student should gain an understanding of DME operation and the instrument landing system, and be able to apply that knowledge to flight scenarios.

Instructor actions

Introduce and motivate with the question of how we gauge distance and arrive at the airport without visual references

Describe new navigation systems and their operation in a predominantly lecture format

Illustrate techniques using Tim’s simulator

Review each system before moving on to the next

Evaluate student knowledge with questions emphasizing understanding rather than rote

Have the student solve multiple scenarios

Conclude with an oral quiz, identifying and correcting errors

Student actions

Arrive with completed homework assignment

Maintain active involvement by responding to questions and taking notes

Guide the instructor through the intercepting and tracking of several simulator scenarios

Complete an oral quiz and demonstration of the concepts

Completion Standards

The lesson will be complete when the student can describe DME and ILS equipment – and demonstrate an understanding of the techniques required to smoothly and accurately intercept and track a localizer and glideslope – with minimal instructor guidance.

Teaching outline

Review radio principles

What are the three types of waves?

Which kind of frequency does the ILS use? How about DME?

CDI with localizer and glideslope

Not all CDIs can be used with an ILS, but all should work with a localizer

when flying a localizer, it is four times as sensitive – every dot is .5° rather than 2°

the glideslope needle will be flown just like a normal lateral course – the center is the airplane

performance instrument, used as a reference to adjust control inputs

Instrument Landing System, IF 309 & IFH 7-27

The ILS is a precision approach, providing both lateral and vertical guidance down a predetermined flight path.

As a precision approach, it is designed to transition from instrument to visual flight

Uses a system of ‘lobes’; overlapping points define the approach

VHF band

operates between 108.10 and 111.9 MHz

Five parts make up the ILS in actual use:

localizer provides lateral (directional) guidance

broadcast from the non-arrival end of the runway (illustration from IFH 7-28)

40 channels, on odd tenths between 108.10 and 111.95

the ‘full scale’ of 5° will extend to 700 ft wide at the threshold, varying the localizer width

service volume reaches 18 nm, between 1000 agl and 4500 above the antenna

lateral area is ±10° to 18nm, ±35° to 10 nm, providing proper off-course indications within the volume

glideslope provides vertical guidance with a UHF signal

broadcast from antennas located approximately 1,000 ft from the approach end

40 channels, paired with the localizer

full deflection occurs .7° high or low; useful width is 1.4°

average angle of 3°, but may be as low as 2.5° or as high as 4°

calibrated out to 10 nm from threshold, but reception is common further
false glideslope forms at approximately 12° above the horizontal

this is the danger of intercepting from above

reverse sensing makes it somewhat apparent

intercepts marker beacons at 1400 feet HAT (OM) and 200 feet (MM)

crosses the threshold at approximately 50 feet

marker beacons, IF 324

essentially an extremely low power ADF; designed to create an elliptical ‘fan’ (alternate name: fan marker) that is 2400 feet wide and 4200 feet long at 1000 feet above the antenna